Harry Evans and the New Marauders
by Renozon-Wildrose
Summary: HP/AU. Imagine what Harry's life would have been like if Sirius was released from Azkaban instead of escaping, and if Snape was placed as his second god-father. This is a story about him and a group called the new marauders. Harry "Evans" P/Luna L and Leo Shatterfrost/Hermione G. Extreamly Abusive Dursleys/Manipulative Dumbledore/Rude Ronald W/Some Character bashing/death.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hey everyone I'm back! and with a new name lol! I am starting this new story with a Co-Author who is also my mother (DON'T JUDGE ME!) and I'm sorry for not continuing my previous story of Percy Jackson. I'm looking forward to reading your reviews on this story and hoping to get my creative juices flowing so I can continue the other story soon. But onto this one...I hope you enjoy the story and I'll only do this disclaimer one time so don't ask for more! We do not own the wonderful and beautiful world of Harry Potter nor any of it's sister stories written by J.K. Rowling...she owns it all and I am extremely happy it's her that owns it for I highly doubt anyone else would have done anywhere near as beautiful of a job at it as she did. And I thank J.K. Rowling for creating the world of Harry potter and sharing it with the world...she has made this world a better place due to its publication.

Harry Potter, Year One:

Prologue: Ding, Dong, The Dark Lord's Gone, (Here, Have Your Nephew)

October 31, 1986, 10 p.m. Potter's cottage, Godric's Hollow

He walked quietly through the shadows. He knew that between the new moon and his black hooded cloak, that nobody would see him. As he approached the gate to the hidden cottage, he knew that his spy was correct. This was the place all right. He could feel the spell that had been placed here. It was a powerful one, and only his spy could have told him where this place was.

He waved his wand silently at the gate, opening it without so much as a single squeak in protest, then walked through, shutting it behind him just as silently. He peered around. Yes, this looks like a typical magical abode. He could see where the vegetable garden was, protected from the frost with spells. He could also see where all the herbs and other ingredients for potions were planted, equally protected from the elements.

He moved slowly up the walk, then peered through the front window. He could see his prey there, playing with their little whelp. He watched as an ordinary looking man used his wand to create colored smoke rings to the glee of the little boy sitting in the woman's lap. After a few more minutes, the man put his wand away, kissed the little boy on the head, then said "Time for bed." The woman looked at him and told him "I'll be just a couple minutes." She picked up her wand, then carrying the little boy, disappeared up the steps. It was now time for him to make his move!

He waved his wand at the door, sending it crashing open. The man jumped up, grabbing his wand and yelling "Lily! Get Harry out of here now and get help!" The man from the shadows gave a whispery laugh and said "You don't stand a chance against me, now step aside!" The other man looked at him, and started to cast his spell. Before the other man could finish his spell, the man from the shadows said "Avada Kedavra", causing a green light to hit the other man directly in the chest, killing him instantly. "Foolish man! I would have spared you! I only want your son!"

Meanwhile, upstairs, the woman the other man called Lily quickly set her son down in his bed. She knew that she did not have time to hide or protect her son, so she did the only thing she could do. She quickly waved her wand, saying "Expecto Patronum". When the silvery doe appeared, she told it "go!" then watched it fly away, and split into 2. She hoped that they got the message in time to save her son. She then knelt in front of her son's bed, gave him a hug and kiss, then told him "Mummy loves you! Everything will be alright." She then turned around, placing herself between her son and the door, just as the door blew open.

The man from the shadows looked at her, and said "Foolish girl, get out of my way, and you will come to no harm!" Lily looked him in the eye, put her wand down, and said, "You will not harm my son!" The man from the shadows looked at her in wonder, then said "So be it. Avada Kedavra." The woman was hit by the green light and collapsed to the floor.

The man from the shadows then looked at the boy. The boy was barely old enough to walk. He smirked. There is no way that this child is going to be his undoing now! The child just looked at the man from the shadows, like he was studying him, trying to memorize his face. "Avada Kedavra" said the man one last time. To his shock, the green light bounced off the child as if a hand had swatted it away, and flew straight back at him. He felt a burning pain, as if a hot poker had burned him through the chest, then felt no more. The man from the shadows fell to the floor, dead. Minutes later, when the two men showed up at the cottage, there was nothing left of the room, except a crying baby and a huge hole in the wall in the side of the house. They were too late to save the parents, but needed to get the child out of there before the muggles showed up.

October 31, 1986, 11p.m., Godric's Hollow

Sirius blinked into existence on his friend, James Potter's, front lawn. Or at least, what used to be the front lawn. He looked around, and saw his other friend, Severus Snape, appear out of nowhere. "Did you get the message, too?" Severus asked. "Yes, I did." Sirius replied. "But, it looks like we're too late, though." Severus nodded at Sirius. "You go find and take the boy from here. I'll set the spells and hide this mess from the muggles until the ministry can get here to investigate." "Alright" Sirius said, then moved toward the house to search the wreckage for the crying baby. As soon as he found the baby and a soft blanket, he disappeared with them, heading for the meeting place with Hagrid, while Severus started the spells.

November 1, 1986, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, 5:30 am

For the inhabitants of 4 Privet Drive, November first was like all others. The alarm chimed at the usual time, Vernon Dursley got up, kissed his wife, Petunia, took his shower, got dressed in his usual boring suit, then sat down for his usual breakfast of eggs, toast, bacon and coffee. While Vernon was taking his shower, Petunia got up, put on her usual plain pants and flowered blouse, got their son up and dressed, put him in his high chair, put out the milk bottles, grabbed the newspaper off the stoop, then started breakfast.

Mr. Vernon Dursley was a big, beefy man, who was almost as wide as he was tall. He also had a big mustache that he took pride in the grooming of. He was a director at a firm called Grunnings, and prided in the fact that his section was at the top of the sales charts for the firm. Mrs. Petunia Dursley was tall and thin, and had a neck that was long enough to look over the back fence at their neighbors back yard so that she would later call her friends to gossip about what the "crazy cat lady" was doing now. Their son, Dudley, was a little boy, who more resembled a big pink beach ball with thick blonde hair than the toddler that he was.

They prided themselves on being very normal, thank you very much, and had absolutely nothing abnormal happen in their perfectly normal lives. There was one bad mark in their lives which they shuddered to think of anyone finding about. That one thing was Petunia's abnormal sister, and her equally abnormal husband. Because they had not heard from, or seen them for several years, the Dursley did not even think of "those crazy Potters" when they could help it.

After breakfast, Vernon skimmed the weather report in the newspaper while finishing his second cup of coffee, got up from the table, folding the paper and setting it down, kissed his wife and son, who was squirming all over the place while screaming and throwing food at the walls, and grabbing his briefcase, walked out the door to go to work. He started his car, pulled out, then started driving to work. It was when he got to the corner that he saw something unusual. There sitting on the corner, looking down the street, was a black and grey tabby cat that he had not seen before. "Bloody neighbor needs to start putting her cats in at night." he said, then he turned the corner and left Privet Drive behind for the day, and drove the work.

After a perfectly normal day at work, which included yelling at a few workers, shouting abuses over the phone, and then just for kicks, yelling at his workers some more, Vernon got up from his desk, walked out the door, got into his car and drove home. When he got to his home, he noticed that the same black and grey tabby was sitting on his garden wall. "Shoo!" he said, and could have sworn that the cat sat up stiffly and narrowed its eyes at him, then proceeded to clean its face, ignoring him. "Bloody neighbor really needs to take that cat to task and keep it on her property!" Vernon grumbled as he walked in the door. He shook it off, kissed his wife hello, then sat down to eat his dinner.

Later, after Dudley was put to bed, the Dursleys sat down to watch the news. It was the usual stuff at first, (The Prime Minister got caught with his pants down, literally; Surrey's football team had lost spectacularly, again; The money market was doing good, as usual; You know, the normal stuff you hear on the news.) This was when the anchor broke in, and said "This bit of new just came in: Owls have been spotted all over London today! It appears as if flocks of them were flying all over the place! Reports have also come from Kent, Yorkshire, Surrey and Cornwall about this unusual behavior! Let's just hope that this doesn't become an epidemic!"

Then the anchor straightened up the papers on his desk, and said "Now let's see what we can expect for tomorrow's weather. So, Ken, have there been any downpours of owls today?" Ken chuckled, "No, no owls to report, Tom, but I got a few complaints in Kent that instead of the rain that I predicted for today, they had showers of shooting stars! Sorry folks, nothing I can do about it, I don't control the weather, I just report it! As for tomorrow, you will be getting the rain that I promised you!" The weatherman then went on to do his usual weather report, so Vernon turned the television off, and turned to his wife.

"So, Petunia, Have you heard from your sister lately?" Petunia pursed her lips, blowing on her tea, and answered, "No, I haven't. Why would you ask me about her? " " Oh, nothing, I guess...It's just that...you know...umm…" Vernon cleared his throat at this point. "Well those last reports seemed as if they would, perhaps, been caused by her lot, you know?" Petunia just narrowed her eyes at him, then shrugged her shoulders. "As long as I don't hear from Lily, I just prefer to not think about her and her lot at all. After all, they have nothing to do with us." Vernon just agreed with her, got up, and got ready for bed. As he was getting ready for bed, he looked out the window, and noticed that the cat was still sitting on the wall, but was now looking down the street like it was expecting something to happen. He just shook his head, put on his pajamas, and turned out the light to go to bed.

November 1, 1986, 4 Privet Drive, Whinging, 11 p.m.

It was after everyone on Privet Drive went to bed that the man appeared at the corner. He was tall and thin, with long, white hair and an equally white beard that was long enough to tuck into the belt of the purple robes that he wore. He looked down the street and noticed a cat sitting stiffly on the garden wall. He chuckled to himself "I should have known that she would be here.", then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object that looked like a silver cigarette lighter. He clicked it 12 times and each time he did so, a light floated from a street light and into the puter-outer. When the street was finally dark enough, he walked over to the garden wall and sat down, saying "Imagine seeing you here, Professor McGonagall." He looked over at the cat, and instead of the cat sitting there, there was a tall, slim woman, who had black hair tightly wrapped in a severe bun, square lensed spectacles and wearing green tartan robes.

"How did you know it was I, Professor Dumbledore?", she asked. He chuckled, "Only you would sit there so stiffly and with such a look of disapproval." "Well, you would be stiff, too, if you sat here all day on the cold wall!" "All day?" "Yes, all day. And I must say, these people at this house are the worst sort of muggles that I have ever seen. Why, just this afternoon, the woman was being kicked in the legs by her son, who was screaming for sweets, when she took him for a walk!" "Well, at this moment, we can't be too picky." Dumbledore replied.

"Also, when they were watching the news, I couldn't help but hear about the reports. Did you realize that the muggle news reported owls acting strangely all over the place? And, there were shooting stars in Kent!" Professor McGonagall told him. "I bet the shooting stars were Dedalus Diggle's work! He never seems to show much common sense!" Dumbledore looked at her, and said,"Well, we must excuse some of these shows of magic and whatnot. After all, they have much reason to celebrate. Would you like a lemon drop?" Professor McGonagall looked scandalized. "Would I like a what? Also, in case you didn't realize what I was just saying, muggles are noticing these things that are going on, and reporting it on their news! It would be a sad shame if on the very day that You-Know-Who died that the wizarding world would suddenly be exposed!"

Dumbledore sighed,"That won't happen. The ministry will make sure that the shooting stars are attributed to muggle fireworks, and the owls will be slowing down now that the news has been shared everywhere. By the way, you do realize that saying Voldemort has never killed anyone, don't you?" Professor McGonagall shuddered, "Only you would be brave enough to say his name. After all, everyone has said that you were the only one that You-Know-Who….Oh, alright, Voldemort, was afraid of." As McGonagall said this last, she looked around as if she was afraid that the name would summon the man. Dumbledore looked at her and replied, " I have always said that allowing the fear of the name is the same as inviting the fear of the thing itself. Besides, I have no power that he does not have, I just choose to use my power in a different way."

"Well, you were always too noble to use your power that way!" McGonagall answered. "I'm glad that it's too dark out for you to see me! I haven't blushed this bad since Madame Pomfrey complimented my new earmuffs last Christmas!" For a while after that, they sat in silence each keeping their own thoughts.

Finally, Professor McGonagall broke the silence. "Is it true? What they are saying about Lily and James Potter? Are they truly gone? And, did he really try to kill their son? What happened?" Professor Dumbledore bowed his head, then answered. "Yes, they are dead, and the boy does live. As for how it happened, no one knows. And, yes, Voldemort did try to kill the boy. It appears that the spell bounced off him. Matter of fact, that is why I am here tonight. These people here are the only living relatives that the boy has left."

"You can't be serious!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed. "Leave the boy here? These people seem to enjoy snubbing anything that is different! Why earlier, I heard them talking about Arabella and her cats as if having several cats makes her a freak! They will not treat the boy right! Let me take him and raise him, like I am Leo!" "I'm sorry, Minerva, but I can't allow you to have him. You see, Petunia is Harry's only living blood relative now. I am casting a blood charm on him, which will be activated as soon as Petunia takes him in. I am going to have to trust in blood to keep him safe. Voldemort's followers are not going to give up, after all."

"Well, if you put it that way, I guess I don't have any choice, then do I? I still say that he will be safer in a witch or wizard's hands, though. Our community would be able to keep him safe. We could keep anything evil from happening to him!" "We can't keep him with us. He will be safer raised as a muggle, until the time comes for him to take his place amongst us. I am doing this for his own good. Now enough! Hagrid should have him here any second."

"Hagrid? Are you sure that's wise? I know that he means well, but doesn't he have to habit of…." "I trust Hagrid with my own life. He will not hurt the boy. You'll see. Ah, I believe that's him now!" Sure enough, McGonagall heard the sounds of a motor approaching. As it got louder, she looked around. In the sky, she could see what looked to be a huge black motorcycle approaching. The motorcycle touched ground, and with a quiet sputter, shut off.

Hagrid was a big man. Some said that he was too big to be allowed. He stood over 9 foot tall, and looked to weigh about 700 pounds. He had long, thick, curly hair black hair that could never be tamed. His bushy beard was just as wild as his hair. In his dust bin sized hands, he held a little bundle, which appeared to be a sleeping baby. He put his baby dolphin sized feet on the ground, and carefully dismounted the bike.

"The little tyke fell asleep just as we were flying over Bristol.", he said, as he was handing the bundle over to Professor Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall looked at the sleeping baby and noticed the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. " Is that where…?" she asked, not able to finish her sentence. "Yes", was Dumbledore's answer. "He will carry that scar for the rest of his life! Is there any way we can remove it?" she asked. "No, there is no way. That is a scar caused by a very strong curse." Dumbledore said.

Dumbledore then walked over to the stoop of 4 Privet Drive and carefully placed the baby down. He then placed a letter addressed to Petunia Dursley on top of the baby. Hagrid started to give a loud cry, but quickly muffled it with his big handkerchief. He did not want to cause a scene or wake the muggles, after all. Professor McGonagall looked at Professor Dumbledore, then transformed into her cat again. She then laid down next to the sleeping baby, to make sure it stayed warm.

Professor Dumbledore looked at her, then said, "Alright, you can stay here for tonight. Keep him safe and warm until the muggles awake. Get ahold of me right away if they do not take him in, please." The cat sniffed at him, then putting her head on the baby's chest, made sure that she kept her eyes open and surveying everything around them.

"Come Hagrid. Let's go now. Don't worry, this is not goodbye forever. We will be seeing him again before we know it. " With those words, Dumbledore walked to the end of the street, waited for Hagrid to leave on the bike, then after putting the lights back where they belonged, disappeared in a flick of his cloak.

Minerva McGonagall was true to her word. She stayed there the whole night, until she heard the sounds of the Dursleys moving about. Then, quietly getting up, she hid behind the bushes and waited. A few minutes later, Petunia opened the door to put out the milk bottles, and then screaming for Vernon, picked up the baby and took him in the house. Her heart heavy, Petunia walked over to Arabella Figg's house next door, became a woman again, knocked on the door, and waited to be let in. She got Mrs. Figg's word that she would be contacted at the first sign of any trouble, then using flue-powder, went home to get much needed rest.

November 2, 1986, Ministry of Magic, London 10 a.m

Severus Snape had already been waiting for over an hour, when the portrait finally cleared its throat. He was standing in the waiting area by the Minister of Magic's office, (which was actually little more than a hallway with 2 chairs) waiting to see the Minister, Cornelius Fudge. Severus was a man who, being average height and weight, would normally be overlooked in his black robes. However, even though he did keep his long, black hair clean and combed, his hair always appeared to be greasy. This was due to the fact that his hair was so straight, that he had to use liberal amounts of hair product in it to keep it out of his eyes.

At the sound of the throat clearing next to him, he looked over. A short, squat man in judges robes and white powdered wig was now in the frame and waiting for Severus to notice him. As soon as Severus looked over, the man again cleared his throat, then said, "The minister is ready to see you now." Then, the man walked out of the frame.

Severus walked over to the minister's door and knocked. When he was told to enter, he turned the knob, walked in and shut the door behind him. He stood there, quietly waiting for the minister to speak to him. Cornelius Fudge was a short, stout man who tended to wear green suit and tie with a white shirt. On his head was a green bowler hat, which he wore to hide the fact that his brown hair was receding in the front. His blue eyes studied Snape for a few minutes before he spoke.

" What can I do for you, Severus?" the minister asked. Severus thought for a few seconds before responding. "Mr. Fudge, I came here for a few reasons. First and foremost, I have copies of the wills of James and Lily Potter. They entrusted them to me to hand over in the event of their deaths. In them, you will see that Sirius Black has been named as godfather of their son, Harry Potter, in the event of their deaths. If he is unable to take care of Harry, whether due to death or any other circumstances, then I am to be allowed to take his place."

"Oh, dear!", exclaimed Cornelius, "I'm afraid that I have some news on that matter. You see, Sirius Black was arrested yesterday afternoon, and has already been sent to Azkaban Prison. Also, young Harry was sent to his aunt and uncle last night for his protection. Dumbledore has set charms around him, you see." "What was Sirius arrested for? What were his charges? And why was there no announcement about his trial?" yelled Severus.

Cornelius looked a little taken aback by Severus' vehemence. "Well, as for the reason for his arrest and the charges, Sirius was arrested by the aurors for the murders of Peter Pettigrew and a dozen muggles, who were innocent bystanders on a street that he blew up yesterday afternoon. He was also charged for providing the location of the Potters' location to You-Know-Who, resulting in their deaths. Because his guilt in the death of Pettigrew was so obvious, there was no trial. He was taken straight to Azkaban Prison from the place that he was arrested."

"So, presumed guilty on all charges, without any questions or trial, in other words?" "My dear fellow, think about it. Sirius was standing on the sidewalk across the street from the spot that a big hole had been blown in the road! There were bodies and body parts everywhere! He was laughing about it! He even handed over his wand, and allowed himself to be led away while still laughing! Would you have taken him to the courtrooms, or would you have saved everyone's time by just taking him to Azkaban?"

"What about the other charges? The ones where he is charged with the Potters' deaths?" Cornelius tried to calm himself down. He was not used to being questioned about his decisions made this way. "I was told that Sirius was made the secret keeper of the Potters' location. For this reason, the only way that You-Know-Who would have been able to find them, is if Sirius himself told him!"

"Who told you that Sirius Black was the secret keeper? Their secret keeper was Peter Pettigrew, not Sirius! Sirius was only in hiding, matter of fact, staying very close to my location, so that he could throw the scent off Pettigrew being their secret keeper!" "Oh. That's too bad, then. The person who told me it was Sirius was Albus Dumbledore. He also told me that veritaserum would be no good against Sirius, therefore not to even try it."

Severus' eyes narrowed. "You mean to tell me, that not only did Dumbledore make sure that Sirius would not go to trial, but he also has control over what happens to the Potters' son, and where he goes? That even that will, which will tell everyone the truth, is no good, because Dumbledore has decided what is going to happen, no matter what? Who is the Minister of Magic here? Is it Cornelius Fudge? Or is it Albus Dumbledore?" With that last question, Severus Snape slammed the door open using his wand and stormed out of the office, slamming the door shut behind him.

Cornelius sank into his office chair and covered his face with his hands. After a few minutes, he picked up his quill and got out a fresh piece of parchment. "Dear Albus" he wrote. "Severus was just here, just like you said he would be. He has been told about Sirius Black and Harry Potter just as you told me to. He also brought me copies of James Potter's and Lily Evans Potter's will. I will be hiding them, just as instructed. No one will know that Sirius was innocent of all the charges brought against him. I just hope that we are doing the right thing. Sincerely, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic." Then he went to his owl, handed it the letter, told it the letter was for Albus Dumbledore and opened the window for it. As he sat down at his desk once more to get to work, he thought to himself, "I hope that Harry Potter will be alright, otherwise this will mean more than my job."


	2. Chapter 2

AN: We hope you liked the first chapter and to all readers we hope you will stick aroundd for more because wwithin the nex few chapters things will be derailed from the origonal storyline to our AU. And please leave us reviews because we want to know what you think of our work and a warning to all flamers...all flamers will be useed to fuel both the Salamanders and the Floo Network! We hope you enjoy the story guys and gals!

Chapter 1- The Snake That Got Away (Happy Birthday, Diddykins)

June 30, 1996, 4 Privet Drive, Whinging 7 a.m.

It had now been nearly 10 years since that morning that Petunia had opened the front door to find a baby sleeping on the steps. Not much had changed during that time. The sun still rose in the mornings, filling the living room with its light. The sun still set in the evening, giving an orange glow to the dining room. The yards were still meticulously manicured. The car still parked in front of the house.

Inside the house, there was also very little change. The pictures around the house no longer showed a pink beachball wearing different types and colors of bonnets. Now, the pictures showed pictures of a fat boy in different poses, and doing various activities. There were the school pictures of Dudley trying to look angelic, and a picture of Dudley riding a bike for the first time. There was a picture of Dudley and Vernon playing a computer game together, and there was one of Dudley with Petunia's arms wrapped around him with a proud look on her face. In all these pictures, Dudley looked like a bigger version of his baby pictures. He was now a big and very stout boy who looked like a bigger pink beach ball with his straight blonde hair combed straight down on either side of his face. Of course, there were no pictures of Harry. Matter of fact, there was no sign that Harry lived there at all.

It was on one sunny morning that Harry was rudely awakened by a banging on his cupboard door. "Up! Get up! Now!" his Aunt Petunia said in her shrill voice. She gave one more bang on the door, then walked away. Harry laid there for a few minutes, trying to get his bearings. He had been having such a good dream, too. He had dreamed that he was on a flying motorcycle. He had this feeling that he had dreamed it once before.

Harry sighed, then sat up to put his glasses on, then started looking for a pair of socks. He finally found a pair under his bed, then after picking a spider off it, he started putting them on. After getting that task done, he looked in the little cracked mirror above the bed.

Harry was a pale, skinny boy of almost 11 years old. His dark hair had a bad habit of growing in all directions, which got him in trouble all the time. It wasn't as if he purposely went about looking as if he didn't comb his hair, but Uncle Vernon never let a week go by without saying that he needed another haircut. Just below his bangs, he had (what in his opinion was the coolest thing about his looks) a scar on his forehead that was shaped like a lightening bolt. His aunt told him one day, when he asked, that it was caused by the car crash that killed his parents. (Another good way to get into trouble was to ask too many questions. This was something that Harry figured out very quickly, and avoided if at all possible.) Behind his round, taped up glasses, (The taped up glasses being caused by Dudley hitting Harry in the face) Harry had emerald green eyes. Harry didn't know how tall or short his parents were, so he didn't know if he was short and skinny because of them, or if it was because he was locked in the closet so much of the time.

"Are you up yet?" Aunt Petunia yelled. "Yes." Harry answered. "Well get a move on! I need you to watch the bacon and eggs! This is Dudley's big day, and I don't want breakfast ruined!"Aunt Petunia shrilled. Harry groaned to himself. He had forgotten that this was Dudley's birthday. So much for a nice, hopefully quiet day!

Harry stood up after putting his trainers on, then walked out of the cupboard under the stairs and stepped into the kitchen. The kitchen table was covered with gifts of all sizes, shapes and colors. Harry could see that Dudley had gotten the computer that he wanted. He could also see the racing bike sitting behind the table. Why Dudley had wanted a racing bike was beyond him. Dudley never liked anything to do with exercise, unless it had to do with his favorite game of "Wallop Harry". Harry just shook his head, then proceeded to walk over to the stove and started making sure breakfast was cooked just right.

Uncle Vernon walked in a couple minutes later and grumbled "Comb your hair." as way of greeting, then sat down and waited for Harry to pour him some coffee. When Aunt Petunia walked back in, she had her arm around Dudley and stood there proudly as Dudley counted his gifts. "I only count 36!" Dudley whined. "I got 38 last year!" Uncle Vernon pulled out another small gift, and said," You missed this one from your aunt Marge." "O.K., that makes 37." Dudley's face started to turn red.

Afraid of a Dudley tantrum, Harry quickly served up the eggs and bacon, then sat down and started eating his bacon. He never knew if Dudley was going to pitch the table over or not. Aunt Petunia, looking a little nervous, quickly reassured her son. "While we are out later, we can always pick you up 2 more presents! That will mean that you will have 39!" Dudley thought about it a second, then, shrugging his shoulders, sat down to open his presents and eat his breakfast.

It was while Dudley was opening his 16 computer games that the phone rang. Aunt Petunia went to the kitchen to answer it. A couple minutes later, she came back out looking a little angry. "Vernon, we have a bit of a problem. That Batty Mrs. Figg broke her leg, so she won't be able to watch him today." Uncle Vernon gave Harry a dirty look, as if he was at fault. "Well, is there anyone else who can watch him?" (Harry was used to his aunt and uncle talking about him as if he wasn't there, so he didn't take offense.) "No, there is no one available. Your sister, Marge, can't stand the sight of him, and my best friend, Patricia, is vacationing in Majorca."

At the point, Harry could see the possibilities. "I could always stay here by myself. No one need know that I'm alone." Uncle Vernon looked at Harry with narrowed eyes. "And probably blow up the place, I expect! I'm afraid that there's nothing for it. We are going to have to take him with." At those words, Dudley screwed up his plump face and started acting like he was crying. (He had not actually shed any real tears in years.) Aunt Petunia ran over and put her arms around Dudley, and told him," There, there, Diddykins. Mummy won't let that boy ruin your day!" Dudley looked under his mom's arm with a gleeful look at Harry and started blubbering "B-b-but I d-d-don't wa-want h-h-him to c-c-come!"

About that time, the doorbell rang, and Uncle Vernon announced that Dudley's friend Piers Polkiss and his mother were there. Dudley immediately stopped crying, and went over to his friend and started making plans of how they could make Harry's life hell for getting to go that day. Piers was a tall, lanky boy with mousy brown hair, who looked like he was all elbows and knees. He was the one who usually held Harry down while Dudley beat the tar out of him.

A half-hour later, Harry, not believing his luck, was sitting in the back seat of the car on the way to the zoo. (it was the first time in a long time that he had not been either at school, in his cupboard or at Mrs. Figg's house, which strongly smelled of boiled cabbage and cat.) Before they had left the house, though, Uncle Vernon had cornered him in the living room, shoving his big purple face in Harry's, and told him, "Just so you know, any funny business, and you will be extremely sorry. You might end up wishing to be in the cupboard until Christmas!

Harry looked at him. "I'll be good." he said. Uncle Vernon didn't look like he believed him, though. The truth was, nobody believed him whenever something happened, like the time his aunt had gotten tired of him coming back from getting a haircut looking like he had never been. She grabbed him by the arm into the kitchen and took a pair of sewing scissors to his hair, until he was almost bald. (except his bangs, which she left to cover his scar)

After spending the rest of the day being laughed at by Dudley and his friends, and fearing how bad it was going to be at school, where he was teased for wearing Dudley's old, baggy clothes, Harry went to bed and stayed awake all night, knowing he was going to be teased badly the next day. The next day, to Harry's (and his aunt and uncle's) surprise, his hair had grown back in just as long and thick as it had before the awful haircut. He got a month in the cupboard for that one, even though he argued that he didn't know how his hair had grown so fast.

There was also the time that Harry had been running from Dudley and all his friends at school. One second, he was jumping behind the garbage can, the next, he was on the roof of the kitchen, hugging the chimney. That time, he was sent home early with a note letting his aunt and uncle know that he was not allowed in school for a week for climbing the buildings. No matter how much he protested, Harry was severely "taken to task" (as his uncle calls it) and not allowed out of the cupboard for the week.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by Uncle Vernon's voice. "A bloody menace they are, motorcyclists! Always coming up behind you, and turning right in front of you like they are daring you to plow into them!" Harry's uncle had a lot of things that he liked to complain about. Amongst his favorite subjects to complain about were: Harry, people at work, Harry, the economy, Harry, his boss, Harry, financial institutions, and of course, Harry.

"Last night, I dreamed that I was on a flying motorcycle!" Harry said. Uncle Vernon turned around, and told him, "There is not such a thing as a bloody flying motorcycle." "I know." said Harry. "I only said I dreamed it." "Too right, there's no such thing!" Uncle Vernon looked through the rear view at Harry, probably trying to see if Harry was lying about agreeing with him. Harry regretted even bringing up the dream. This was another thing that his aunt and uncle didn't want to talk about. They didn't care if something happened in a dream or in a cartoon. If an object or person acted unusual or abnormally in any way, they didn't want to talk about it.

An hour later, they pulled into the zoo parking lot. It was a hot and sunny Saturday, so the first thing that Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia did was buy large chocolate ice cream cones for Dudley and Piers. Because the lady selling the ice cream noticed Harry before they could get him away, they bought him a lemon ice pop. Harry didn't care that he didn't get the same though. He much preferred the lemon ice to chocolate, anyway, he thought as he watched a gorilla that looked like Dudley (except without the blonde hair) scratch its head.

Harry had the best morning in a long time. He walked a little separate from the Dursleys after noticing that Dudley and Piers were getting bored with the animals. He was afraid of them going back to their usual game of beating him up. At lunch, they ate in the restaraunt in the zoo. When Dudley had a fit because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream so his dad bought him another, Harry got to finish the first one. Harry should have known that he was having too much fun. His happiness didn't come free.

After lunch, they had gone to the reptile house. Of course, Dudley whined about how hot it was in there, and the fact that the snakes and lizards didn't seem to be moving much. When they got to a glass cage with a huge boa constrictor, Dudley got excited. This was something he liked. When the snake seemed to be sleeping, Dudley started rapping his knuckles on the glass trying to make the snake move. When he wasn't successful, he looked at his dad and whined, "Make it move, Dad!" Uncle Vernon rapped hard on the glass and yelled "Move!" several times. When that didn't work, Dudley walked away saying "This is boring!" then proceeded to bang on the glass of the next cage.

Harry stood there by the boa, just looking at it relaxing. Suddenly, the boa opened its eyes, looked at Harry and winked. Harry was startled, and asked it "Did you just wink at me?" the snake nodded its head "yes". "Can you understand me?" Again the snake nodded its head. "It must be annoying, laying there day after day, with people looking at you all the time and banging on your cage like that. I should know. That happens to me all the time, too." The snake just looked at him. Harry read the sign in the cage. "So, you're a Brazilian Boa Constrictor. Do you have any family? What's it like in Brazil?" The boa moved its tail and pointed at the bottom. "Oh, born in captivity. So you don't know your family. Me neither."

At that moment, it seemed that Dudley had looked over at the boa again. "Hey Piers! You won't believe what this snake is doing!" he said as he punched Harry in the face, knocking him down. It was while Dudley and Piers were leaning on the glass, looking in that the glass somehow disappeared! The snake slithered past them, taking a little nip at their heels as he passed. As he slithered past Harry, he could have sworn he heard the snake say "Gracias amigo! Buenos Aires, here I come!"

He sat there on the ground, smiling for a couple minutes, while pandemonium surrounded him. The other two boys had fallen in the water in the tank when the glass had disappeared, so they were standing there, crying about being cold. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were standing there, yelling that they were going to sue, while the zoo director kept insisting that he didn't know how the glass had disappeared. It was during this commotion that Uncle Vernon looked at Harry with a suspicious look. Harry quickly swallowed his smile, but it was too late.

When they got home from the zoo, Uncle Vernon just looked at Harry and told him to sit. Harry was made to sit there while they waited for Mrs. Polkiss to get there to pick up Piers. Aunt Petunia fussed over the two wet boys, giving them blankets and hot tea for a short while. As soon as Piers and his mother left, Uncle Vernon whipped off his belt and told Harry to stand up.

Uncle Vernon started beating Harry with the belt while demanding to know what had happened at the snake cage. Every time Harry told him "I don't know!", the beating would start again. This went on for a half hour before Harry finally said, "I really don't know what happened! One second the glass was there, the next, it was gone! It was just like magic!" His Uncle Vernon hit him for a couple more seconds, while Dudley stood there shouting abuses at Harry and mocking him, as Harry tried to move around to avoid the blows. Finally, purple faced, Uncle Vernon grabbed Harry by the hair and dragged him to his cupboard, threw him in and hissed "There's No Such Thing As Magic!" as he was locking the cupboard door.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: We realize that a lot of this story has been really close to J.K. Rowling's story. We ask for just a little more patience, because we needed to keep a lot of it so the story would make sense. By the end of this chapter, we will be starting to veer more towards our version, but will also be keeping a few things true to the original.

Chapter 2: You've Got Mail! ( Now Run, Potter, Run!)

The escape of the boa constrictor earned Harry his longest ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holiday had started and Dudley had already broken his new video camera and run over Mrs. Figg with his racing bike as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.

Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. As Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader. The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Harry Hunting.

The reason why it was usually difficult to avoid Dudley's gang was because of the list of chores that Aunt Petunia set him to every day. Every morning was spent cleaning inside the house: vacuuming carpets, sweeping and mopping floors, cleaning the bathroom. After a cheese sandwich and a glass of water at noon, he did yard work: clipping the lawn, pulling weeds and watering flowers. If Harry did a good enough job, then he got to go to the park in the evenings for an hour after dinner.

Harry's one tiny ray of hope was that in September, he would be going off to secondary school. For the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to the local public school. Dudley thought this was funny.

"They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry one day while he was mopping the kitchen. "Want to come upstairs and practice?" "No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it. It might be sick." Then before Dudley could work out what he'd said, Harry walked over to the sink with the bucket, emptied it out, then went outside to start working in the yard.

One day in mid-July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry with Mrs. Figg. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she did not seem quite as fond of most of them as usual. Mrs. Figg was a middle aged woman of color who tended to wear jumpers and skirts. Usually, she wore a pair of floppy slippers on her feet, but at this time, she had a walking cast on one foot, and used a cane for balance. Her dark curly hair was kept short, and she had kind brown eyes.

There was one cat that she didn't seem to mind, however. "Oh, that's Snuggles, " she said, as a fluffy, pure white, red eyed cat with a black crescent marking on the left side of its face jumped into Harry's lap and tried to get him to pet it. "He comes and goes as he pleases. He loves to be snuggled and petted for a while. He comes in for a couple hours and then he goes away for a couple weeks or so before showing up again."

For the rest of the afternoon, Mrs. Figg allowed Harry to watch the television, while she fed him tea and a very stale piece of chocolate cake. Shortly before Aunt Petunia came over to get Harry, Snuggles jumped down out of Harry's lap, (where he had been purring happily at the attention he was getting) and meowed to be let out. "Okay, Snuggles, out you go, then! See you next time you're in the neighborhood," Mrs. Figg said as she opened the door to let him out.

That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking.

As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said that she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown up. Harry, on the other hand, didn't say anything. He thought he had maybe cracked at least two of his ribs trying not to laugh.

When Harry woke up the next morning, there was a horrible smell in the kitchen. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look and found the tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in dirty water.

"What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question. "Your new school uniform," she answered. Harry looked in the bowl again. "Oh," he said. "I didn't realize it had to be so wet." "Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."

Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High-like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.

Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his knobbly stick on the table.

They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat. "Get the mail, Dudley,"said Uncle Vernon. "Make Harry get it, "demanded Dudley. "Get the mail, Harry," was Uncle Vernon's answer. "Make Dudley get it," Harry replied. "Smack him with your Smelting stick, Dudley," Uncle Vernon said, as he continued to read his newspaper.

Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge, who was on holiday on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and- a letter for Harry.

Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives-he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even gotten rude notes asking for books back. Yet, here it was, a letter addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:

Mr. H. Potter

The Cupboard Under the Stairs

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

Surrey

The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp.

Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surrounding a large letter H.

Harry was so distracted by the letter, that he didn't hear Dudley sneak up behind him. "Whatcha got there?" Dudley asked as he tried to look over Harry's shoulder. "Hey Dad! Harry's got a letter addressed to him," he yelled as he tried to snatch Harry's letter from his hand.

Harry jumped and waved the letter around, trying to keep it out of Dudley's reach, while also trying to avoid the Smelting stick as Dudley hit him with it over and over again.

"Geroff me!" Harry said as he tried to protect his head. Dudley continued to hit Harry wherever the stick could connect as he yelled at Harry to show him the letter.

Next thing Harry knew, Uncle Vernon's arm had snaked between the two boys, snatching the letter out of his hand just as the Smelting stick finally found its mark-right across Harry's forehead. Everything went black.

Next thing Harry knew, he was trying to open his eyes. The pain was blinding, making him feel sick to his stomach. Harry groaned, and finally got his eyes cracked open enough to see, but his glasses must have gotten knocked off his face. He saw the very blurry form of his Uncle Vernon standing over him, tearing up what looked like his letter. "You're not going!" Uncle Vernon said, then he walked over to the fireplace and tossed the item in the fireplace and lit it.

Next, Uncle Vernon bent down, picked up Harry's glasses, shoved them on Harry's face and told him to get up. Harry tried to do as he was told, but he was so dizzy from the blow to the head, that his legs just collapsed from under him. Uncle Vernon jerked Harry up by the arm, and told him "Walk up those stairs to Dudley's extra bedroom right now! If you don't start walking right now, I'm going to drag you up there. I'm not going to have people spying on you anymore!"

Harry tried, but ended up falling to his knees at the bottom of the stairs, and attempted to crawl up the stairs. "I said walk, not crawl!" growled Uncle Vernon, as he grabbed Harry's arm in a bruising grip and started dragging him up the stairs. He threw Harry in the room, slammed the door, and locked it. "Now you will be staying there."

Harry crawled over to the bed, trying not to retch from the pain in his head. He slowly climbed onto the bed, laid down and closed his eyes, once again passing out.

Much later, Harry woke up. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. Then he remembered. The letter. Dudley knocking him out with the Smelting stick. Uncle Vernon burning the letter and hauling him up the stairs to the room. Harry's head gave a vicious throb, causing him to retch, but there was nothing in his stomach to bring up.

Harry looked at the door, and noticed that there was a tray with a bowl of what looked like soup and a glass of water. Next to the tray was a big bowl of clean water and a wash cloth. Harry stumbled over to the door, and tried the knob. It was locked. He looked down and noticed a note under the bowl of soup. He picked it up and tried to read it.

Harry, Eat this soup and drink the water. It's all you're getting today. Also, clean up your head. I don't want any more blood on the pillow and bedclothes than there already is!

The note was written in his Aunt Petunia's handwriting. Harry sat on the floor and picked up the cloth and placed it in the bowl. The water was cold and soothing on his head. As he rinsed the cloth in the water, the water started turning brown. Harry looked up and saw a mirror on the door, so he stood up and looked. He had a big gash going across his forehead that was about three or four inches long. It looked like it had bled quite a bit for a while. He also had what looked like the beginning of a black eye, and looked like it was going to swell shut by morning. Harry looked down at his arms. No wonder why he hurt so bad, his arms were covered in welts from Dudleys stick. His left arm was also sporting a set of finger prints from Uncle Vernon. He lifted his shirt, and sure enough, there were more welts from the Smelting stick.

Harry sat back down again, wrung out the cloth as best as he could, then while holding the cloth to his head, (It really did feel good.) he picked up the glass of tepid water and tried sipping it. His stomach threatened to rebel, but he managed to keep the water down. When he looked at the soup, he almost got sick, so he decided not to risk it. He picked up the glass again, stood up and stumbled back to the bed, still holding the cloth on his head. He sat down, placed the glass on the little nightstand, lay down, took his glasses off and closed his eyes once again.

When Harry next opened his eyes, there was bright sunlight shining through the yellow curtains. It was morning. He sat up, and discovered that he could only open one eye. He grabbed his glasses, put them on, then sat there quietly for a few minutes. He discovered that his Aunt had been there sometime while he was sleeping. He found two aspirin and a fresh glass of water on the nightstand, as well as a small plate with a piece of toast.

After Harry had taken the aspirin, ate the toast and drank the water, he found that he needed to go to the bathroom badly. He stood up to go to the door to try to get someone to let him out to go, but then he started hearing his aunt and uncle talking loudly down stairs. Harry crept to the door, and tried listening at the keyhole.

"Now they are addressing it to the Little Spare Bedroom at the Top of the Stairs!" Uncle Vernon said. "Well, I found three of them this morning with the mail," was Aunt Petunia's reply. "I guess he's just going to have to stay up there. We swore that we would not let this nonsense into our house," Uncle Vernon said. "Yes, we can't have that stuff around our Diddydums." Aunt Petunia said. "Too right, we can't!" Uncle Vernon agreed. Then Harry heard the sound of the door opening and closing, then the starting of Uncle Vernon's coupe.

Harry then remembered that he needed to use the bathroom, so he started knocking on the door. His Aunt walked up the stairs, then stopped outside his door. "What do you want?" Aunt Petunia sneered. "I need to use the bathroom." Harry told her. "Okay, but you have only five minutes, then you're going back to the room, whether you're done or not!" she replied, as she turned the lock.

This routine continued for three more days. Harry would wake up, eat his toast, drink his water, be let out to use the restroom, then either read or sleep all day until he was given more water and a bowl of lukewarm soup. Then he would be let out to take a quick shower and use the restroom again, just to be locked back in the room a couple minutes later.

On the fourth day, Harry heard his aunt complaining to Uncle Vernon that "that crazy Mrs. Figg" had stopped by that morning asking if everything was alright with Harry. His Uncle just commented that it wasn't that "busy body's" business and to just tell her so. Harry finally looked out the window for the first time in a couple days. On the sidewalk, he saw Snuggles looking up at his bedroom window. He wished that he could somehow talk to the cat, but he knew that cats couldn't talk to anyone to let them know that he needed help.

Snuggles looked at Harry, seemed to narrow his eyes, then walked around the corner and disappeared. Harry sat down on the bed again, and almost started crying.

The next day, Harry was let out of the room for the first time in 5 days. As Uncle Vernon glared at Harry, he joyfully let him know that since it was Sunday, he could spend the day out of the room. Harry knew why. There was no post on Sunday.

It was just as Aunt Petunia was getting ready to sit down to enjoy the breakfast (Which she had made Harry cook) that it happened. There was a strange noise coming from the fireplace, then whoosh! A letter flew out and hit Uncle Vernon right in the face! Then another letter and another letter flew out. Soon, there were hundreds of letters, all addressed to Harry, flying out of the fireplace and through the post slot in the front door!

"Get upstairs! Now!" Uncle Vernon shouted. "No! These letters are mine!" Harry shouted back, as he finally got his hands on a letter. "Dudley, Hit him with your stick!" Uncle Vernon ordered.

Dudley started hitting Harry about the head again as Harry ran past him and got to the door. Harry managed to get the door unlocked and was out it before Uncle Vernon or Dudley could get near him. Remembering that the only person who inquired about him in the last few days was Mrs. Figg, Harry quickly ran to her house and started pounding on the door and yelling for help.

Mrs. Figg opened the door, took one look at the very bruised boy and looked over at his house. When she saw Uncle Vernon and Dudley wedged together in the doorway, shouting for Harry to come back or else, she grabbed Harry by the arm, pulled him in her house, then quickly shut and locked the door. Harry looked up at her, and said "Thank you!". Then Harry passed out at her feet.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3: When You Gotta Go, You Gotta Go (Batman Makes a House Call)

As Arabella Figg stood over Harry, praying he would wake up soon, there was a pounding on the door. Vernon Dursley started yelling about calling the authorities if Harry didn't come out right this instant and come home. He also threatened to turn Arabella in for harboring a runaway. All Arabella could do was stand there, wringing her hands and wishing she could do magic.

Arabella carefully knelt down as best she could with a cast on her lower leg, and took a good look at Harry. The gash on Harry's head had reopened blood had run down his face and into his eyes. He also had a cut just barely under his right eye and his bottom lip was split and puffy. He had fresh bruising on his left cheek as well as on his lower jawbone. She carefully checked, and found that at least there were no breaks in his nose or jaw. There were also days-old bruises all over him.

Next, Arabella looked at Harry's arms. He had a combination of old and new bruises all over them, as if he had tried protecting his head and face from repeated blows. When she lifted his shirt a little, Arabella gave a little hiss, because his ribs were badly bruised. As she gently prodded his ribs, she heard a hiss and a growl from behind her. Arabella looked over her shoulder, and saw Snuggles all fluffed up and looking like he wanted to take a piece out of Vernon Dursley, who was still pounding on the door, threatening Harry and using obscene language.

She went back to inspecting Harry's ribs, and thought that at least one or two were at least cracked, if not broken. That would have to wait until magical help arrived, though. Carefully, Arabella stood back up. After one last bang on the door and a shouted threat, Cernon finally left and Snuggles calmed down a bit, walked over to Harry and started sniffing at him.

Arabella Figg then looked at Snuggles and remembered. There was help there, after all. "Leo, " Arabella said, "I need your help. I'm a squib and he's too big for me to pick up." Snuggles looked up at her worried face, sniffed at Harry one last time, then nodded. Slowly, Snuggles started to grow and change. A moment later, a young teenaged boy was standing there.

Leo was a 12 year old boy who would have stood about a half-head taller than Harry. He had long, straight, silvery-blonde hair with blood-red tips. His eyes were red, and he had a black crescent-shaped celtic tattoo on the left side of his face that started just below his hairline, and ended just above his upper jawbone. He was vampire pale, but had rosy cheeks. He was wearing a black Ozzy Osbourne t-shirt with cut off sleeves, black denim pants and black motorcycle boots.

Leo pulled a wand out of his pocket smoothly, giving it a bit of a flick, then Harry slowly levitated up and floated until he was hovering just over the couch. Harry was then slowly lowered down until he was laid gently on the couch.

Leo then put his wand back in his back pocket and turned to speak to Mrs. Figg. "He's gonna be out just a bit longer. His head needs cleanin' and some ice. Severus should be here any second, so get ready to leave. Doona fash, though. Me mum 'as taken care of yer room at the Leaky Cauldron. It be time for me to turn back into Snuggles. Ye'll be lettin' me out so I can meet me mum at the corner, aye?" At Mrs. Figg's nod, he turned back into a cat and went to the door, just as there was a tap on it.

Arabella Figg walked to the door and checked. It was Severus Snape. She opened the door to let him in. As Severus walked in, he looked down, and stepped to the side a bit to let the cat run out before closing the door once again. Severus gave a bit of a smile and thought, "So that's how Minerva knew. Her cat was here," then quietly asked Arabella where Harry was.

About that time, Harry gave a bit of a moan and started moving, holding his ribs with one hand, his head with the other. Severus heard the moan and walked over to the couch quickly, looking a bit like a bat as his black robe billowed out around him, his face turning pale. "What the blazes happened to him?" Severus asked. He looks like he had the bloody hell beaten out of him!" "That's because the fat boy and, I suspect, the father did beat him up at least twice since Tuesday, last." Arabella replied as she was wetting a soft cloth to clean Harry up a bit.

"Water," Harry requested in a whisper, as if he was afraid to talk any louder. Arabella sat softly on the edge of the couch and started carefully cleaning the wounds on Harry's face and head. "I'm sorry, honey, but you might get sick if we give you water right now," said Arabella. "Won't matter," said Harry. "I'm gonna be sick anyway. I haven't eaten yet, so it'll be worse if I throw up nothing at all." "He's right," Severus quietly broke in, startling Harry and causing him to flinch. "Harry, you need to sit up, though. I wouldn't want you to choke on the water or vomit. Arabella, can you get Harry a glass of water, please?"

Harry, turning a little green, swallowed and said, "Okay," then attempted to sit up, keeping his eyes closed and his arms around his sore ribs." When Severus attempted to help Harry sit up, Harry flinched away from him and put his hands out in front of him in a defensive posture. "Sorry, sir," Harry said. "I can do it myself." Severus' eyes flashed as he moved quickly toward the front door, once again looking bat-like.

Arabella Figg walked out of the kitchen and stopped long enough to hand a now sitting Harry a glass of water, then walking as quickly as her cast allowed, tried to stop Severus. "No, Severus," she said. "Don't do anything right now. We have to think about Harry. The muggle authorities may be here in about a half-hour, or less." Severus closed his eyes a second and seemed to calm down just a bit. "All right. It can wait a bit, but before we leave, I am having a talk with them," Severus finally answered her. Severus then walked back over to the couch, grabbing a small rubbish bin just in time for Harry to vomit up the water he had just been drinking. After Harry finished emptying his stomach, he tried to apologise to the adults for the mess. Severus looked at him and said, "There's no apology expected. Harry, I suspect you have a concussion from the blows to the head. Now, lay down and get some rest. We will be leaving here soon." "Where're we going?" Harry said with a slight slur. "You're coming to stay with me, where you will be safe." was Severus' reply. As Harry lay back down, Severus mumbled a couple words. A few seconds later, Harry's body went slack, and his breathing became regular as he fell into a magic sleep. "He should be asleep for the trip to my place now. I'll heal the worst of his injuries before he awakes," Severus told Arabella. "Now, are you ready to go?"

Arabella nodded "yes," then asked Severus, "Will you send these two cages and my valise to the Leaky Cauldron for me?" Severus took out his wand and pointed it at her luggage, which disappeared. Arabella took a pinch of powder from a bowl on her mantle, then threw it on the fire, turning it green. She grabbed her purse, stepped into the fireplace, said "The Leaky Cauldron," then with a whoosh, disappeared.

Severus Snape stood there, looking at the sleeping Harry. He noted that not all the bruises were from that day. It appeared that Harry had been beaten at least one other time in the last week. He saw the yellowing bruise from Vernon's hand on Harry's arm. He suspected that Harry had been feeling very poorly indeed for at least a few days already, based on how he had sounded when he had tried to talk. Severus spun around and leaving Harry on the couch for the moment, walked back out the front door, pulling his wand out of it's holster and headed for the Dursley's house next door.

Severus unlocked and opened the door using his wand, then headed for the sounds of voices talking. As he walked into the sitting room, he found the Dursleys, arguing about whether or not the authorities should be called. He spotted the Smelting stick in Dudley's hand and about lost it. Before any of the Dursleys could spot him in their house, he had cast incarcerous and langelock on all three of them where they sat, and grabbed the stick out of Dudley's hand and snapped it over his knee.

"Now that I have your undivided attention, there is something that I think that you should hear. First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Severus Snape, and I am Harry's godfather. Now, for the reason why I am here. You do realize of course that Harry is next door right now, but do you realize or even care about the extent of his injuries, which were caused in part by this man's hand, (looking at Vernon Dursley) and in part by this boy's stick? (looking at Dudley)"

"Just for your information, I am going to be getting a hold of the ministry for magic, and giving them a catalog of all his injuries, both new and old. He has a serious concussion, bruises and lacerations on his face. He has old bruising as well as fresh welts all over his arms. On his left arm is also the very distinct hand print of Mr. Dursley, here. His ribs are severely bruised, and he has at least one or more broken ribs. I didn't get a chance to check his legs. He is in too much pain for me to remove his pants right now to look."

"Now for you, Petunia. Yes, I still recognise that horsey face of yours from when we were young kids. Harry is your only sister's son, yet you allow your husband and son to abuse him in this way. From what I've been hearing, you've also been making Harry do all the yard work and housework, while letting your son do what the bloody hell he wants. When you don't feel like dealing with Harry, you then lock him up and damn near starve him. This neglect is just as bad, if not worse than what your husband and son have been doing to him. At least he will heal from the physical abuse."

"Shame on both you adults, if anyone can even consider you that. You are supposed to protect all children! Not just your son, but all children! I am going to be taking my leave of you all in a second. If Harry comes back here next summer, I better not hear of you three mistreating him in any way! Harry is coming with me, now and will be staying with me for the duration of the summer. Since I happen to have the wills of both his parents, naming me his godfather, there is not anything you can do about it. Now, Good Day!"

Severus then spun around and stalked out of the house, shutting and locking the door as he went. He sent a quick patronus to the Office of Obliviators, letting them know that they were going to have to change a few memories, then walked back into Arabella Figg's house.

Severus walked over to the couch and looked down at the sleeping boy for a couple minutes. For the first time in almost 10 years, he wanted to cry. Not for himself, though, but for what Harry had been through for all this time. Then, squatting down, he carefully and gently picked Harry up, his arms under the shoulders and legs. He stood up, gave a half-turn, then disappeared, leaving the house empty.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4: Happy Birthday, Harry! (BTW, You're A Wizard)

Spinner's End, Cokeworth July 23, 1996

Severus Snape and Harry reappeared in the blink of an eye in a dark sitting room. Severus gently laid Harry down on his comfortable old couch then turned and pointed his wand at the fireplace, starting a fire there. He then waved his wand around the room, lighting the candles scattered around the room, lighting the candles scattered about the room. These tasks completed, he turned back to the sleeping Harry.

Severus carefully removed Harry's shoes and socks, then took off the rest of his outer clothing, leaving only his briefs on. Severus then grabbed an electric blue quill and some parchment, setting them on the side table. The quill rose over the parchment and waited.

Kneeling next to the couch, Severus started the examination at Harry's feet. As Severus did this, he spoke aloud, talking about Harry's injuries in an almost clinical way. The quill made scratching sounds as it wrote down everything he said.

After Severus completed the examination, he stood up and started to put the quill away. He changed his mind and placed the quill back over the parchment. "Harry's body has obviously been through a lot of physical abuse. How much over the years, I don't know at this time."

"I will be healing the injuries to his head before waking him. After waking him, I will be giving him skele-grow for the ribs. I will be telling him about our world while allowing the rest of the bruises to start healing. If he gives me permission, I will use legilemens on him in a few days to find out if the abuse has been ongoing, or just a recent development."

Severus then got out another parchment, put the quill over it and told it "copy". The quill immediately began writing everything down on the new parchment. Severus then picked his wand back up and knelt down by the couch again, this time by Harry's head.

Severus then placed his wand on the gash on Harry's forehead and started mumbling a spell. As he cast his spell, he closed his eyes a bit and sensed that the bruising on Harry's brain was slowly healing. He put a bit more effort into his spell, a bit more of himself. The bruising started healing faster. After the bruising on the brain was healed, Severus then worked to close the skin until there was no outward appearance that Harry had ever been injured there at all.

Then Severus put his wand down and took a minute to reexamine Harry's head. After he reassured himself that the worst of the injury was healed, he quickly closed the wound under Harry's eye and repaired his glasses. After doing this bit of healing, Severus then took a quick break before deciding that it was now time to finish up.

Severus then picked his wand back up and pointed it at his potions cabinet. The cabinet opened and a big phial flew out and went straight to his outstretched hand. He then waved his wand over the table and a goblet appeared. After taking the stopper out of the phial and pouring some liquid into the goblet, Severus then put the stopper back in and sent the phial back to the cabinet. He then gently took Harry's hand and said, "It's time to wake up now, Harry."

When Harry finally opened his eyes a minute later, the first thing that he noticed was the strange man that he had seen at Mrs. Figg's house. When he sat up, the next things he noticed was that one, he was not in a sitting room that was familiar to him, and two, even though his head wasn't hurting for the first time in days, the pain in his ribs almost brought tears to his eyes. Severus, noticing the pain, sat on the couch and handed the goblet to Harry. "Here, this will help, " he said.

Harry took the goblet, but didn't drink from it right away. "Who are you? Where am I?" he asked. Severus looked at him and said, "I am one of your godfathers, Severus Snape, and you are at my house. Now, please drink that potion. It will help. I will explain as much as I can when you're feeling a bit better." Harry finally looked at the goblet, and then sniffed. "It doesn't smell so great" he thought, so he tipped it and drank as much as he could while holding his breath. Harry coughed and sprayed some of it at the taste.

Severus sort of chuckled, "Yeah, it's not exactly pumpkin juice, but it does heal broken bones. You sustained a few broken ribs this morning when you tangled with your cousin." Severus then handed Harry a throw pillow and a light blanket. "Here, I forgot that I needed to remove most of your clothes to see how bad your injuries were. Hug the pillow to your ribs for a while to help with the pain. With luck, you drank enough to heal your ribs in the next hour, but the pain might get a little worse before it gets better while the ribs are healing."

Harry covered up with the blanket and hugged the pillow as suggested before looking around a little bit more. The room was so dark that he had originally thought that he was in an inner room, but he noticed that there were heavy red drapes covering the window in the room. The fireplace was lit, providing warmth and light, and there were candles lit on several surfaces around the room. There was also a candle filled chandelier above the couch that he sat on.

All the furniture in the room looked older, as if the man in the room with him had either inherited them or bought them second hand. Everything looked like it was in good condition, even though it was obviously older. There was the couch that Harry was sitting on, plus a couple of matching lounging chairs. Two matching end tables were on each end of the couch. Harry could also see several doors from where he was sitting.

"How long was I sleeping, anyway?" Harry asked. Severus looked at him. " From the time that you fell asleep at Mrs. Figg's house to the time you woke up here?" "Yeah." Harry replied. Severus looked at the grandfather clock. "About one hour, give or take five minutes." Harry looked shocked. "An hour? How did my head heal so fast, then? I've never healed that fast!" Severus sighed. "I guess it's time we had part of that discussion I was waiting to have."

"Harry, like you, I'm a wizard. I healed your head using magic while you were sleeping." "I'm a what? " Harry asked. "A wizard," Severus replied. "Haven't you ever wondered why certain weird things keep happening around you?"

Harry thought back to things that had happened in his life. Things he had gotten punished for. He remembered that bad haircut that had grown back overnight. He remembered ending up on the school's roof when running from Dudley and his gang. He also remembered the time that his teacher's hair had turned blue after she had yelled at him for something Dudley had done. Then he remembered the snake at the zoo. "You mean that I actually did those things? But, there is no such thing as magic! Everyone knows that!"

"Stop thinking about what your uncle and aunt tried to beat into you! Those things really did happen. Magic is real to those born into our world. I feel that after a few years of training, you will be a great wizard, just like your father, James." "You knew my father? Were you there when him and my mum were killed in the car crash?" Harry asked Severus. "CAR CRASH? You were told that a car crash killed your parents?" Severus was astounded at the lengths that the Dursleys had gone to hide James and Lily's legacy from Harry. "Harry, they were murdered by one of the worst wizards in our history. That same wizard is also responsible for that scar on your forehead."

Harry started to say something, but was interrupted by a tapping at the window. Severus got up and walked over to the window. He pulled the drapes back to peek out the window. Outside the window was a couple of big barn owls with a big sack between them. Severus pulled the drapes back a little more and opened the window to let the owls in. The owls dropped the bag at Severus' feet, then one flew back out the window while the other flew to a perch in the corner of the room like it was waiting for something. Severus then waved his wand at the sack, moving it to the opposite end of the couch from Harry.

When Severus peeked inside the sack, he discovered a big bundle of clothing, a couple tins of cookies, and a letter. Severus picked up the letter and read, " Severus, Enclosed, you will find a bunch of muggle clothes that will fit Harry and some sweets to help fatten him up a bit. I hope to hear that everything is alright with him. Regards, Minerva"

Severus picked up a quill and parchment and wrote back to Minerva, "Minerva, I have had to do a bit of healing on Harry and then explain that he is a wizard. Apparently, the Dursleys kept his heritage from him, so I am having to start from scratch. Thank you for the clothes and sweets. The clothes he was wearing when he got here were very inadequate. Regards, Severus. P.s. Hopefully, your son, Leo can come and visit sometime before school starts. Harry needs to meet some nice kids his own age."

After writing the return note, Severus turned to the owl that had stayed behind and handed the note to it. The owl then went to the window and flew away. Severus then closed the window and turned to Harry.

"I hope you don't mind, but one of my coworkers knew that I brought you here with only the clothes on your back, so she sent you some of her son's clothes. She also sent you some cookies. Let's find out how these clothes fit, shall we?" Harry looked at him. "Umm…. okay, I guess. Anything is better than Dudley's old clothes, I guess."

Severus took the tins out first and set them on the coffee table before he turned the bag upside down on the couch. They found four pairs of black jeans, two of them artfully torn at the knees. They also found four pairs of black t-shirts with popular rock bands on them. Severus looked at the t-shirts, and chuckled, "Ah, Yes. I forgot that Leo likes his muggle rock band t-shirts." Harry looked at him quizzically, "Muggles?", he asked. "Non-magic folk." Severus replied. "Well, let's see how these fit, shall we?" Severus said.

Harry then looked around. "Umm...is there a place that I can go to put these on?" he asked. Severus then said, "I'll just go into the kitchen over there", and pointed at the door on his left. "It's almost lunch time, anyway. Is there a type of soup or sandwich that you prefer?" Harry thought about it a second. "I'll eat just about anything. I am quite hungry, but don't want to be a bother." Severus just sighed and asked, "How long has it been since you had a decent meal? By decent, I mean when was the last time your stoche was actually filled?"

"My stomache has never been full, but it has been almost a week since I had more than two meals a day, and more than two glasses of water per day." Severus almost choked holding back his rage at that statement. "Well, then, I guess it's going to be a hearty chicken soup and cheese sandwich. I'll be back in a little while. In the meantime, have a cookie or two from those tins and try on the clothes. You'll find that Minerva makes excellent cookies." Severus then left the room so that Harry could try on the clothes.

Harry picked up the first t-shirt. When he put it on, it was a perfect fit. He looked at the rest of the t-shirts, and found them to be the same size as the one that he was wearing. He then tried on one of the black denims without the holes, and found that this also fit comfortably. After checking the others, he found that they were also the same size that he was wearing, so he folded the rest of the t-shirts and jeans and put them back on the end of the couch. He then opened a tin of the cookies and found them to be ginger cookies. He grabbed two, closed the tin and sat down to nibble on the cookies while waiting for lunch.

A few minutes later, Severus returned to the sitting room. "Ah, I see the clothes fit! Funny, except for the hair color, you now look a little like Leo. Well, follow me, luncheon is ready now. I hope it tastes good...I don't cook for others very often." Harry just looked up, and shrugged his shoulders, "Like I said, I'm not that picky...If you would like, I could help out with the cooking every now and then. At least at breakfast, anyway. I can cook up bacon and eggs. I'm used to making those every morning, anyway." Severus replied to that, "If you don't mind my cooking, then I'm willing to give you a bit of a break from that task for at least a few days. You need to rest and gain a few pounds before I'll even consider having you do more than keeping your room at least neat." Harry stood up, "Okay, I guess."

Harry then followed Severus through the door into the kitchen, where there was a small table set for two. "I hope you don't mind," Severus told him, "but I figured that as long as it's just the two of us, we can eat at this table for now. I usually save the dining room for when I have more people over. I'll take you on a tour of the place after we eat and let you get set up in your bedroom."

Harry sat down, and noticed that there was a bowl of chicken soup, and sandwich and a glass of juice in front of him. There was also a glass of water there for him. "So, how long am I going to be staying here, anyway. I wouldn't ask, but I'm afraid that Uncle Vernon is going to call the police or something on you."

Severus scowled at the mention of Vernon's name, causing Harry to flinch away from him. "Please don't be afraid of me, Harry. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at the people who were supposed to be taking care of you. Don't worry about them. I've already had a talk with them, and explained exactly who I am. I think that we have come to the understanding that you will be staying with me until school starts."

Harry looked at Severus with a bit of awe, then picked up his spoon and started eating. After lunch, Severus put the dishes in the sink, pointed his wand at them and walked away to show Harry around the place, just as he said he would. Harry stood and watched as the dishes seemed to wash themselves and put themselves into the drainer to dry. "You're going to have to show me how to do that!" Harry exclaimed. Severus just chuckled and said, "I'm sorry to say this, but since you are still under aged, you will be having to do the dishes the muggle way. As far as domestic magic goes, you will be learning that stuff in school soon enough. Now, let's grab the pile of clothes on the couch and put them away." Severus then walked back into the sitting room.

After Severus showed Harry where his room was and showed him where the bathroom was and so on, he went back to the sitting room, put some more logs on the fire, then sat down in one of the lounges. He invited Harry to sit wherever he wanted, then handed him a n envelope addressed to him. "This is the letter that you were trying to read when you ran to your neighbor's house this morning. Go on and read it."

Harry opened the envelope with shaking hands. Inside were two pieces of heavy yellow paper. The top piece was written in the same green ink as the envelope and with the same handwriting. It read:

Hogwarts School

Of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class; Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

After reading this letter, Harry looked at the other page. It had a long list of all the items that he needed to bring with him to school. Harry put the letter down, and sighed. "There is no way I'm going to be able to get all that stuff. I know that there is no way that I'm going to get my uncle or aunt to pay for that or for my tuition." "Your parents left you enough money for all that and more. They did not die paupers, and I have all the paperwork needed for you to be able to access the funds. Also, I know the person who is holding onto the key for your vault. He will be here next week, for your birthday, to take you there on August 1 to get everything you need. Unfortunately, I have an appointment that same day, so I won't be able to take you myself." was Severus' answer. For the rest of that day, Severus insisted that Harry relax, drink lots of water and juice, and eat when he was hungry.

For the next couple days, Severus answered as many of Harry's questions as he could. Several more owls showed up during that time with more clothes and snacks for Harry. Harry kept most of the clothes, except for one. It was a gaudy looking orange sweater with a red letter "R" in the middle of it.

On Wednesday, Severus finally decided it was time to ask Harry if he could see his memories. "Harry, have a seat on the couch. There is something important I need to ask you. I need you to listen first, then think about it for as long as you need before you give me your answer. I will answer any questions that you have at that time." Harry sat down. "This sounds serious, Uncle Severus. Okay, I guess that I'm ready to listen."

Severus took a moment to compose himself, then started. "I would like to use one of the abilities that I have learned called legilemens on you. This spell will allow me to see into your memories. I would not do this on you with or without your permission, but I need to see how long that your aunt and uncle abused you. I need to see how bad it was. If it was as bad as I suspect, I will be getting ahold of someone in the legal department at the Ministry of Magic on your behalf to take full custody of you if I can. Again, this is your choice. Now I'm going to give you a chance to ask me questions and give me your answer."

Harry thought about it for a moment. "Will this be painful?" "Physically, no it will not be painful. If I do this, though, you will be reliving these memories, yourself as well. Know that I do not wish to hurt you in any way, but I need these memories." "How do you cast this spell? How does it work?" " You will need to relax and look into my eyes. I will then cast the spell. Legilemens works only by eye contact in my case. Legilemens works by showing me your memories, almost like a moving picture. I will try to just sift through them. After, I will then make copies of your memories using another method on myself. These copies are what I will be sending to the legal department if necessary."

Harry thought about it for just a minute more. "Just one more question, then I'll let you do this. Is there any way anyone else will be able to get these memories from me? If so, then is there any way that you can teach me to keep any others out of my head?" "Good question. Yes, others could get those memories from you and use them against you. There is a way of blocking unwanted intrusions from getting into your head, which I will start teaching you later this morning. Is that alright with you?" Harry said, "Yes. And we can begin as soon as you're ready. I want to get this part out of the way as soon as we can. I don't like these memories. They wake me up at night all the time."

Severus then instructed Harry to sit there and relax. "It's important that you relax, because this spell will drain you if you try to fight the memories from coming. Know that they are just memories, and will not be able to physically hurt you a second time." Harry then relaxed as instructed. Severus then picked up his wand pointed it at Harry's head and said "Legilemens." As Harry looked into Severus' eyes, he started seeing things from his past.

He remembered when he was a baby, and had Dudley poking and prodding him all the time. He remembered his aunt taking a away from him and smacking his hand, because the spoon was floating in front of him and feeding him. He remembered his Aunt Marge's favorite dog Ripper chasing him up a tree when he was only 5. Nobody would call the dog off, and left him up in the tree until after bedtime.

He remembered every time that Uncle Vernon "took him to task" for every time he created accidental magic. He remembered every punishment from Aunt Petunia because of the reports of "bad behavior". (each report of bad behavior was because of Dudley and his friends chasing and teasing him.) Severus almost started laughing when Harry remembered the teacher's blue hair. Finally, Harry started remembering the snake at the zoo. Then the arrival of the first letter, and the result of Dudley trying to take it from him. The time spent in the room, and the conversations that Harry overheard came next. Finally, to the day that Harry met Severus.

When Severus finally broke eye contact with Harry, he had tears running down his face. "My dear boy! I don't even know how to begin. You have had a rough time of it, alright. I will begin teaching you occlumency as soon as you have a bit or rest, and something to eat." Severus then took his wand, pointed it at his potions cabinet as said, "Accio, empty phial." A small empty phial appeared with a stopper. After it flew to his hand, he turned his wand to his temple and held it the a second. As he slowly pulled it away, a silvery fiber like substance came from his temple. After he was done pulling this from his temple, he shook it over the phial, dropping it inside. After it settles in the bottom in a gaseous from, he put the stopper in the phial.

"Alright, now let's have a bit of a snack, then we will be getting to the occlumency lessons. I really do not want anyone to be able to use those memories against you!"

Over the next couple days, Harry was taught some relaxation techniques so that he could learn to block others from his mind. Before he knew it, it was Sunday night. Before sending Harry off to bed, Severus sat down and said to Harry, "Tomorrow is your birthday! I have invited a friend of mine, Rubeus Hagrid over to help us celebrate. He is also the man who will be taking you to Diagon Alley to get your supplies. I realize how you feel about big men. Just know this. Hagrid will not hurt you in any way. He will also be there to protect you. Also, for your protection, let's start calling you Harry Evans. Evans was your mother's maiden name. We will start practicing this name whenever around others, so that you get used to answering to it. Will that be alright with you?"

Harry looked at him, and said, "I guess. Is this because of my parents' murders? Am I still in danger?" Severus looked at him with pride. "Yes, it's precisely because of your parents' murders. No one will recognise the name Harry Evans. With your bangs grown to the length that they are, no one will be able to see the scar, either." "Alright, I'll do it. Well, Goodnight, Uncle Severus. See you in the morning."

Bang! Harry woke up the next morning with a start. Bang! "Okay, okay! I'm up! Just give me a minute and I'll get breakfast started!" Bang, Crash! Harry jerked up in the bed, and remembered where he was. He quickly put on a jumper and a pair of torn black denim pants, then ran down the stairs, to see the front door laying on the floor and Severus assuring a giant of a man that he could fix the door, so no harm, no foul.

"Err, Morning, Uncle Severus. Hi, Mr. Hagrid?" Harry said, as he looked up at a man who had to stoop to keep from hitting his head on the ceiling. The man wasn't just tall, he was enormous! He had wild black hair on both his head and his face. He looked kind of scary, but had crinkly black eyes that looked like they smiled a lot.

"This must be Harry.", the man said as he stooped down to put the door back in place so that Severus could fix it. "I haven't seen you since you were the size of a bowtruckle. You look a lot like James did at your age, but you have your mother's eyes. By the way, you can call me Hagrid." Harry just stared and nodded his head to let Hagrid know that he understood.

"Oh, Happy Birthday! Here's a little something I made for you. I might have sat on it a little, but it should taste alright just the same." Hagrid then pulled a slightly squashed box out of his pocket and handed it to Harry. It was a small cake with chocolate frosting and green writing on it that read, "Happee Birthdae, Harry." "Thanks! Maybe we can have this after lunch, right Uncle Severus?" "That's right, Harry. Let's put this in the kitchen for now, and start some breakfast. What would you like for your breakfast, Harry? After all, it is your big day. Not every day that our boy turns eleven, after all!"

Harry thought about it, and decided on bacon, sausages, eggs and toast with some pumpkin juice to drink. Severus led them into the kitchen and started preparing the meal. Harry and Hagrid sat down at the table and waited. "So, staying with Severus for now, eh Harry?" "Yeah, things weren't working out too well with my aunt and uncle. Severus has been helping me out a lot, and teaching me about the magic world for the last week. There is so much to learn!"

Hagrid made a sound, almost like "harumph" and then said to Harry, "Yeah, Professor McGonagall has told me a little about what happened, and Severus has also let me know a few things. You, know, Professor McGonagall tried to get Professor Dumbledore to allow her to foster you, but I guess that he decided to keep you out of the eyes of the magic world for a while."

Severus turned at that, and asked, "Did she really try? I didn't know. Harry would have been safer with her than at his aunt's place. I knew Petunia when she was still a little girl. She had a nasty disposition even then! I wonder why Dumbledore decided that it would be best to place Harry there instead of with Minerva?" He turned back to the stove and let the topic die.

The three of them spent the day together. Hagrid had brought a deck of cards with him, and between Hagrid and Severus, Harry learned how to play exploding snap. Severus had bought Harry a few items (like socks and briefs) that he needed, plus a few things that he didn't need. (like gobstones and Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.) They had the cake with luncheon, then had an early dinner.

"Well," Severus finally stretched and said. "It's an early start for all of us tomorrow, so I'm going to suggest that we all get to bed. Hagrid, would you like the extra room, or the sitting room?" "I'll take the sitting room, thank you. It's less claustrophobic in there." "Very well, I'll get you a blanket and a couple pillows, then say Goodnight." "Goodnight, Uncle Severus. Goodnight, Hagrid. See you both in the morning." "Goodnight, Harry", both men replied, then Harry went to bed.


	6. Chapter 6

I'm sorry for the long wait and ittl have to wait a bit longer because Wild Rose's computers motherboard fried and hasent been able to type up anything new for a while because of it. she will be getting a new comp soon so please bare with us on this. And as usual i will now be saying Ja Ne~


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